Philippe Li is a former president of the franco-korean chamber of commerce and the current head of the Asian Departement at Jones Day laywer firm in Paris. In a talk broadcasted on French radio France Culture, he explains why Western countries should learn lessons from the formerly called “emerging countries”.

Turnover and number of employees of Samsung 2009-2011

According to Philippe Li, we should not talk anymore about emerging countries but about “emerged countries”, as their economic situation dramatically improved in the recent years. In fact, eleven of them are now part of the G20.

Western companies should watch more what is going on in these dynamic countries. They is a lot to learn from them, and they are a great market to invest in.

Philippe Li focuses on the example of France and South Korea: France could increase exchanges with South Korea, notably in luxury, building and new technologies.

What is more, France should get more inspiration from the Korean growth. A close collaboration between government and companies, a collective vision and national pride that one can observe there, are the causes of such a dynamic growth and the reason for Pyonyang election as the host of the 2018 Olympic Games, instead of the French city of Annecy.